Catching Up
by Blackmoondragon1415
Summary: Genie stops off to see an old friend on his trip around the world. Takes place after the first movie. Oneshot.


A/N: I trust you know I don't own this, otherwise I wouldn't be writing fanfiction. The only one that I own here is Ribadore. I might elaborate in another story the whole history here, if I get plenty of reviews on this. So, I wanna hear some feedback, guys!

* * *

Catching Up:

It was always cold, always snowy, up where this particular entity lived. It was partially why she remained reclusive to the outside world, always hiding, skirting the edges of the population of humans. Occasionally, stories and fables concerning her presence got out, seeming to pervade as tales that broke the laws of nature themselves. Though it could have had something to do with the fact that she was not of the natural mold. Her nature was eternal, and her form alien to the imagination of the people that were now so plentiful on the earth. She still served it, true, but they often made the work harder. They were such a young race, prone to fits of paranoia when they didn't understand things, and they often did not see what they did in the bigger picture. Still, the life of such a ascetic being did not offer much to company. Ergo, why she was so surprised when a particular visitor arrived late in the winter.

It had started with the sound of something floundering outside her cave, a rare thing in itself, considering that none of humankind would have bothered to come up her way. It was too high up, and with nothing useful on the surface, it guaranteed privacy that she often craved. Still, the one possibility remained that if someone was coming up here specifically to find her…

Curiosity eventually weighed out over caution, and she rose on her four legs, tail trailing behind her as she made her way towards the entrance. For a larger-than-average creature, she blended in to the snowy, mountainous environment rather well, an attribute that she was proud of. The blue djinn outside was not as inconspicuous and, considering his slightly flustered appearance, he had been wandering outside for quite awhile.

"Honestly, these mountains are getting weirder and weirder. I've been by here at least ten times and haven't found anything…WHOA!" He yelped as his distinct red shoe caught on a jutting stone, almost sending him falling straight over the precipice outside had it not been for a quick-acting instinct to hover. "Yeah, _definitely _remember that…"

She couldn't help the grin that twisted her features into something that only few would recognize as a smile; it had been so long since she had seen another, especially a friend such as him. Still, it did not deter her usual calm and cynical nature in the least. Although, that urge to respond, to interact with another that would not actively hunt her, one that understood loneliness and bondage, was overwhelming.

"You are as loquacious as ever, Genie."

It was almost amusing to watch him jump and spin around, what clearly was his heart thudding visibly in his ribcage. She, on the other hand, remained quiet, flittingly grinning at the display.

"And still a fan of dramatics, I see."

"Hey, hey! Riba! Where've you and your stale wit been hiding out for the last millennia?"

"Right here, actually." Her tail thumped the stone behind her in an emphasis. Genie's face went right from cheerful to staggered.

"Been improving, huh? I must've walked past that about fifteen times."

"Good, that means it's working." She said with a degree of camaraderie that she reserved only for those that she felt earned it. "Come on in. Though I warn you, I have not tried to cover all of the crevasses in the floor. You may have to glide a bit."

"Gliding I can do." The usual grin had fit cleanly back into place, he hovered next to her as she lead him inside, the coldness of the outside dying away almost instantly. The whole of the entrance 'hall' was dark, with a faint illuminating light at the far end, where the living area was.

Genie's dark eyes took in the large cavern as they came in, eyes traveling over the fire pit in the center, to the walls that were splashed with sketches of various things, from a castle to a waterfall, and even what looked like a jungle took up one whole section of the stone wall.

"Got an eye for art somewhere in the last few centuries?" He asked, flicking a thumb towards some of the drawings.

"More like a memoriam. When you've traveled, you want to remember where you've been." She replied nonchalantly, settling down in the small depression in the floor she had been using as a nest of sorts. Genie took a seat over on a square-ish rock that lay next to the dip in the stone.

"Yeah, I can get that." He agreed with a partial shrug, to which she suddenly caught on to something that had eluded her notice beforehand. A certain lack of gold on the other's person.

"Genie, hold out your hands please." He complied, giving her a look of confusion as he did so. Her eyes drifted right from his hands, immediately focusing on the bare blue wrists that stood out so starkly she could have kicked herself for missing them earlier.

Genie all but jumped at the rumbling laughter that pervaded the cave. Not that the sound in itself was only shocking, it had the tenor quality of an awakening volcano, or an earthquake, but a quick glance gave his confused mind a handhold to latch onto; the serpentine being's eyes were filled with mirth and…pride? Something along those lines. It took her a full minute to resume normal speech, during which the blue djinn stared at her with a look that bespoke of wonderings on her mental health. Still, he recognized the utterly devious look that entered her expression once she calmed down.

"Am I missing something here?"

"Do you remember what the topic of our last conversation was, by any chance?"

It took Genie all of three seconds to figure where this was going.

"Okay, okay, I get it…"

"But I was right, wasn't I?" She angled her long neck down so that she could look him directly in the eye. "I told you that you, out of all the genies that I have met, seemed most likely to get your freedom."

"That you did, Riba." Suddenly his demeanor changed from fond to questioning. "Why were you so sure? It wasn't like I was sure-fire for a selfless master."

"Call it intuition." She replied cheekily before she too came up with an inquiry. "So, you found the 'diamond in the rough'?"

"And it only took me, what? Ten thousand years?" He rebutted, to the amusement of both. A moment of silence passed, during which the fire crackled and popped its energetic song. Finally, Genie seemed to get his thoughts in order.

"Well, in all honesty, I had my doubts from day one. Still, the kid kinda knocked me off-kilter a few times. I didn't even see it coming."

"He unsettled you?"

"Not in a bad way, oh no no, not so much."

"He _surprised_ you." She corrected.

"He actually managed to get a freebee wish outta me, if you can believe that."

"He does seem unique. Are you sure you haven't grown just a little out of practice?" She ribbed, lightly nudging Genie with a claw. The blue entity flexed his arms, the appendages turning muscular as he went.

"Outta practice? Moi? No way, no how!" Suddenly, something in Genie's arm popped, almost in the same manner a joint would if it had been strained too much. The blue face hide a look of discomfort, settling for a pained grin. He was not fast enough for her eyes, which narrowed in concern at the display.

"It appears your freedom came at a price." The voice was low, neutral but sinking into a more depressive line of thought. And Genie, as was his usual instinct, tried to assuage the apprehension building in her eyes.

"Don't gimme that look. I still got plenty of magic in me. You're right; I'm just a little out of practice."

"It is more than that, and you know it."

He flinched, even though the rebuke was neither harsh nor daunting. Just a simple, blank statement of truth. It was the kind she was known to adopt when she felt certain of something, he remembered it from the last time he saw her.

"_You will get that which you desire, Genie." Then a flicker of humor passed over the tired, scaly face. "You've earned it, that is certain."_

"_So, we believe in karma now?"_

"_Karma? No, just a good feeling."_

Then he had been shut up in the Cave of Wonders, and she had been left alone to impulsive and hotheaded people with nothing better to do than hunt her head for gold, or fame.

"At least one of us actually achieved something worthwhile." She murmured, giving the blue djinn an almost proud look. "So, what brought you out here?"

"Just wrapping up a world-wide trip, figured I'd come and say hi."

"I'm honored. Where will you be headed after this?"

Genie hmmed for a moment before answering.

"Back to Agrabah, I guess. I've been everywhere, after all." He finished by conjuring up a small globe, spinning it on a finger to emphasize his point.

"The master that freed you is there, isn't he?"

"Is it that easy to tell?"

The somewhat smug look she gave him told all. Genie snickered, resting his head in a hand.

"What've you been up to, by the way? You can't've just been sleeping for the last ten thousand years." Now it was her turn to consider her answer.

"Aside from my…projects, I've been staying quiet." Her claws brushed over the jagged scars that dotted her forearms. She didn't need to look to see that Genie had noticed. "I've said it before, and I will say it again, no apology is needed, Genie. And, at least you won't be used in such a fashion again, right?"

"Hey, makes this 'free' thing worth it."

"That it does."

Another long silence ensured, during which the fire filled in the quiet again. Genie's fingers drummed against the stone, still looking as though he wanted to say something, but didn't want to drag up what could be a long awkward berating from her. After noticing this, she quickly thought of another question to ask.

"How is Carpet?"

"Oh, Rugman? He's doing alright, still flying like a champ. I left him back in Agrabah. He kinda deserved to get some time off with the others."

"Ah, other friends?"

"Yep."

"You always were the talkative charmer, Genie."

"So you've said. Re-Re-Repeatedly." The djinn commented, head morphing into a skipping record-player for the last word. "You know, you're always welcome to visit."

She remained silent for a moment or two, slightly stunned by the direction the conversation had taken. To be able to converse with others, and to not worry about slayers, or rogue wizards looking for articles that would grant them power, that would be like something out of a dream. Her kind, due to their decreasing numbers and odd appearance, were few and far between. The other species, sans the rare eternals that often understood the pangs of uniqueness, treated them as creatures that haunted their nightmares, and the consequences were as such. To be treated as an equal, by not just one, but to be a part of a group, that was something she would about give up a hundred or so years of her already extensive life for.

"You know, that was probably how I looked when the kid asked me what I would've wished for." Genie mentioned, a knowing, yet impish grin in place.

"That is unusual." She remarked. "I might take you up on that."

"Hey, door's always open." The azure being proffered his hand, accepting the clawed paw that came down to rest on top of it with notable care. For just a second, both faces showed the utmost amity and respect for one another, and then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that shattered the mood. A certain waning of the light in opening leading towards the outside.

"Is it that late already? You should go now if you don't want to get lost."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a good way to round off this trip, would it?" The joke was soon followed by a quick blip of sincerity as she walked him to the entrance. "It's been great seeing you, Ribadore."

"And you, Genie. I hope to visit soon."

"I'll be on the lookout for you. See ya!" And with that, the blue djinn shot for the sky. Conjuring himself an umbrella to keep off the flurrying snow. He had gone fairly far when he looked back, only to see the brief, flickering human image that the river dragon on the ledge had changed into, before vanishing into the rock face that hid the cave.

* * *

So?

Go on, you know you wanna click that little button...


End file.
